Congress moves to kill federal methane emissions program
H.R. 313 — Natural Gas Tax Repeal Act · Filed by August Pfluger (R-TX) · 5 cosponsors · Introduced Jan 9, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill repeals Section 136 of the Clean Air Act, which established a methane emissions and waste reduction incentive program for petroleum and natural gas systems. It also cancels any unspent federal funds that were allocated to that program. The primary beneficiary is the natural gas and petroleum industry, which would no longer be subject to this emissions-reduction requirement or incentive structure.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative function is to eliminate a federal emissions-reduction program and rescind its funding. This is a straightforward deregulatory measure that removes an environmental compliance mechanism.
What the text implies
- Rescission of unobligated balances means any federal funds already appropriated but not yet spent on the methane program are cancelled and returned to the general treasury, eliminating future program spending authority.
- Repeal removes both the regulatory requirement and any voluntary incentive structure, meaning operators lose both compliance obligations and potential financial incentives for emissions reduction.
The full analysis lists 3 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
natural gas producers and distributors; petroleum extraction and refining companies; oil and gas operators subject to methane emissions standards